discontinuously

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌdɪskənˈtɪnjuəsli/ UK /ˌdɪskənˈtɪnjuəsli/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adv
in an intermittent or broken manner; not continuously

The signal arrived discontinuously, fading in and out.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adv · in an intermittent or... intermittently sporadically fitfully brokenly spasmodically

Opposites

continuously constantly uninterruptedly steadily

Word family

Related forms discontinuous discontinue discontinuity continuous

Etymology

From discontinuous plus -ly; discontinuous is from dis- ('not') plus continuous, from Latin continuus ('uninterrupted'), from continere ('to hold together'), from com- plus tenere ('to hold').

dis- Latin continuus Latin tenere Latin *ten- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# discontinuously

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adv
**IPA (US):** /ˌdɪskənˈtɪnjuəsli/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌdɪskənˈtɪnjuəsli/

## Meanings
1. in an intermittent or broken manner; not continuously

## Examples
- The signal arrived discontinuously, fading in and out.

## Synonyms
- intermittently
- sporadically
- fitfully
- brokenly
- spasmodically

## Antonyms
- continuously
- constantly
- uninterruptedly
- steadily

## Related Forms
- discontinuous
- discontinue
- discontinuity
- continuous

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: dis-
- Root: continuus
- Root: tenere
- Root: *ten-

## Etymology
From discontinuous plus -ly; discontinuous is from dis- ('not') plus continuous, from Latin continuus ('uninterrupted'), from continere ('to hold together'), from com- plus tenere ('to hold').

## AI Etymology
Discontinuously is from discontinuous plus -ly; discontinuous is from dis- ('not') plus continuous, from Latin continuus ('uninterrupted'), from continere ('to hold together'), from com- plus tenere ('to hold'). The ancestry passes through Latin dis-, Latin continuus, Latin tenere, and Proto-Indo-European *ten-. The prefix dis- often marks separation, reversal, or negation in Latin and English formations, helping to explain the word's surface structure; the suffix -ly forms an adverb or adjective from the base, so the English form is shaped by recognizable word formation as well as by its inherited or borrowed base. In present use as an adverb, it means "in an intermittent or broken manner; not continuously", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include discontinuous, discontinue, discontinuity, and continuous.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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